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Mapping
"Mapping" is the term used for the creation of something, usually an environment or picture using the tiles found in the Map Editor. It can be done by any and all players in PMU as well as outside, with the help of the exterior Map Editor. Players can map their own homes to their personal content and add many other useful features to the home as well. A player's House, a special mapping area available by all PMU players, has its own special attributes that one can edit. Most of this page comes from this guide here. Thanks to Charticuno for the amazing guide. Understanding the Map Editor First things first; the commands of your house are: /edithouse - This command opens up the map editor. (only in your home) /leavehouse - The command that allows you to leave any PMU house. Now you know the basic functions to get started, but it is important to understand each part of the map editor to map to your full extent! Location of Options Terrain The area on the left is the terrain portion of the map editor. Terrain refers to any mapping tiles you may be placing. To begin mapping, click the tile on the left you want to use, then click a tile on your map to place it there. Tip: By holding your mouse and dragging it across your map, it can place that tile wherever you take your mouse. This allows for quicker additions. There are 11 different tilesets to choose from; each tileset holds different types of tiles. (Such as Dungeon, Indoor, Overworld, Background, etc.) Attributes The area on the left is the attributes portion of the map editor in game. The only attributes available in game are blocks. To use them, just click on the tiles on your map you wish to block; if done correctly a capital B should appear on the tile. As the name hints, any tile where the block is added, that tile is then barred for players to pass. Music To open the music selection, scroll over the "Mapping" button in the bottom left corner, then click the button labeled "Music" at the top of that bar to make the selection window pop up. Music is an often forgotten part of a house, but I believe it adds that extra bit of flare to it, bringing the theme and house together. There are many different songs to choose from, so it should not be too much of a problem selecting a song that fits your house. You can also obtain music by exploring other people's houses. Save House If you would like to save the house you are working on, click the "Save House" button under "Mapping". This saves your progress, closes the map editor, and allows you to explore your house freely. If there is a lot of lag, saving a house may take a long time. Though, its a good idea to save frequently in case something causes you to lose progress. Taking a Screenshot To take a screenshot of only the house, without the chat/sidebar/other accessories, click the "Take Screenshot" button under "Mapping". You have the option to include grid lines and attributes as well, but players, including you, will not be in the screenshot. After you select which kind of screenshot you want to take, it will open your PMU files where you can then select where to save your screenshot. I would suggest going into you screenshots and giving it a separate name. You can then move it from there later. Another way to take screenshots is F11. This will take a screenshot of the whole client (chat, sidebar, etc.) as you see it. And it does include the players in it. This does not work while the map editor is open though. To access these screenshots open "My Computer" then follow these directions: The Folder is in C: -> Program Files -> Pokemon Mystery Universe -> Client -> Screenshots If you want to show the screenshot to other people you can just upload to an image hosting site and post the direct URL. Exit To exit the Map Editor you can click the button "Exit" under mapping. This will delete all the progress you have made since opening the Map Editor. So, if you have nothing to save, or wish to delete what you have been working on, the exit button is your friend. Layer by Layer Mapping I have heard several analogies used to describe the layers of housing to help people understand the concept better. But the bottom line is: Work your way from the bottom up. You are building a house; you cannot make a roof before you have a floor. When you begin your map, you are basically starting from nothing. Let's think of it as a pizza. Pizza - Each layer of mapping is like a part of a Pizza. Ground = Crust Mask (1 and 2) = Sauce Fringe (1 and 2) = Cheese/Toppings (you can never go wrong with cheese) Anyways, to make a (classic) Pizza, you must have a solid bottom/crust. Obviously you cannot put the sauce or cheese on first. Apply that to mapping, you must begin with a solid base/GROUND. Then you begin putting the sauce on. As you do this, you see less and less of the ground. Again, you cannot put the cheese on before the sauce. You work your way up. Finally you put the cheese/toppings on, that is the final layer. Obviously whatever you put on last, is going to be on top. That is why it is good to work up in mapping, Fringe 2 is always going to be on the very top and ground is always going to be on the very bottom, no matter which way you put it. Here I will describe what should be done whilst mapping; layer by layer. With me making a map along with it to further illustrate the process. Ground As soon as you have an idea of what kind of house you are building and a plan to what it is going to look like, then you can begin the house. An easy way to do ground, is to pick one tile that is going to fill the ground for majority of your map. After it is picked, go under “Layers” and click the button fill. This should fill your map. Then for smaller parts that have a different ground, you can do that by hand. (like water or different sections). You should be done with your ground layer now. If you have water as any of ground, go ahead and complete the animation. Mask The Mask (1 and 2) layers are the layers you can walk on top of/in front of. This is where you begin adding the outline to your house. Where cliffs go, where rivers/ponds/lakes go, and sometimes grass. These are examples of how the Mask layer progresses. Do one section at a time. If you begin an outline of something (mine is the river), finish it. You can always edit it later. If you have the same tile in several places, do that at once, instead of continuously switching between tiles. Sections include different sections of cliff. Don't start one cliff and go to work on another in the middle. Mask 2 Mask 2 is where you begin to add in the details. More grass, trees, rocks, flowers, signs, bridges, logs, etc. When adding these things, make sure to have them scattered about, so they look random. The idea is to make it look as natural as possible! (Unless of course its a map that has deliberately planted and placed things.) As you can see, I only did the bottoms of trees, large rocks, signs, and other large objects. This is because the tops are being saved for fringe. Tip: Scroll through different tilesets looking for things that fit your theme and map. Tileset 7 is an excellent set for outdoor maps. Fringe The Fringe layers are what you walk behind. Fringe is where you add things such as tops of trees, tops of rocks, fronds. Do not think that all details are added in Mask 1 and 2. There are a few things that are one tile only or just meant to be walked behind that can be added in this tileset. Fringe 2 Usually I do not use Fringe 2. I only use it when I have more than one thing I need to Fringe on the same tile. So for whichever thing is suppose to be on top/forward you should make that Fringe 2. Sometimes there are 3 things that may fall on the tile that need to be Fringed, but when that happens, something needs to be moved. Attributes In game, the only attribute available is Block. Do Blocks last. This was you can do it all at once, if you do them to early, you will add things/delete things and will have to change your blocks. Review Always assume you have made a mistake. Walk around your house, look for small errors of any kind. They could be blocking errors or layering errors, etc. But do not just look for errors! Look to see if you have pulled your theme together well. You may have overloaded your map (as I tend to do) or under-loaded it, making it look just like an outline. Its always a good idea to get a second opinion. Get someone else to look around your house to give you a fresh point of view. Tileset Rundown Tileset 0 Mostly older non-PMU graphics. But it is mixed with a few general things (cliff, table, signs, houses, etc.) Tileset 1 Mostly backdrops and backgrounds, but also has a few clouds and lightning animations. Tileset 2 Rugs, small tents/houses/stands, windmill, fountain. Tileset 3 Crystals and lily pads, pond items. Tileset 4 Dungeon tiles and trap tiles. Remember that most dungeon tiles corners are separate. So you will have to put them on a different layer. Tileset 5 Buildings Outside is the title. Non-PMU tiles, Castle type things. Tileset 6 Non-PMU plants, trees, cliffs, waterfalls/water tiles, snow tiles. Tileset 7 Popular PMU outside exbel type tiles of all types (except dark). Tileset 8 Popular PMU houses, inside things, Poke dolls, flags. Tileset 9 Few dungeon tiles, tileset 7 and 8 mix, dark tiles. Tileset 10 Plants, colorful spots, hail, rain. Mappers Mappers are special staff members that specialize in using the available tiles in a manner that is unique and innovative for other players. Note that this is a staff position, and to become one you must apply at a specific given time as well as have experience in the mapping world. As a Mapper, that person is responsible for bringing new ideas and landscapes to the game and making PMU even more a-'maze'-ing..... Get it? Mapping Contests Mapping Contests are special competitions put out by the PMU team to make the idea even more fun. Held twice a year for approximately a month at a time, players can sign up in the forums to show off their mapping skills in several areas of the field. Video Tutorials Category:Guide Category:PMU 7 Category:Community